5 Best Holding Midfielders in the Champions League This Season

The UEFA Champions League has been an exhibition for new talent and unheralded stars this season.

Bleacher Report brings you the top five holding midfielders in the competition so far and there are some genuine surprises in store. Just one household name can found among the Group Stage's best so far.

5. Marco Verratti

According to Carlo Ancelotti, Marco Verratti is the new Andrea Pirlo (via Football-Italia.net).

The Italian boss is quick to press home that his Paris Saint-Germain regista will need time, but Verratti clearly has other ideas regarding the speed of his own development.

He's excelling for les Parisiens in Ligue 1 and the UEFA Champions League, while also strutting his stuff on the international stage for the Azzurri.

He's more than a deep-lying playmaker, he's an all-round star. His 4.3 tackles and 1.8 interceptions so far show good ability to break up play, but on top of that he's averaging just under 80 passes per game with a 90 percent accuracy rate.

2. Ignacio Camacho

Ignacio Camacho has made huge strides this season after appearing to fall behind in his development last year.

It was initially believed he was playing above average due to the presence and guidance of Jeremy Toulalan, but an injury to the Frenchman has seen Camacho play just as well alongside Manuel Iturra.

Malaga currently hold top spot in Group C and have conceded just one goal in a 1-1 draw away to AC Milan. While Martin Demichelis has been sensational at centre-back, he's also enjoying some of the best protection of his career to date.

1. Bastian Schweinsteiger

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The UEFA Champions League has thrown us many surprises so far, but one player remains in unassailable form.

Bastian Schweinsteiger has been typically imperious for Bayern Munich, racking up passes and tackles at a lesser rate than the likes of Victor Wanyama purely because he exerts control over the game so easily.

It's no anomaly that the only game "Schweini" hasn't started is the shock 3-1 loss to BATE Borisov.